


Memories to share and memories to create

by ElinOlivia



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 15:48:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14084268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElinOlivia/pseuds/ElinOlivia
Summary: Fashion intern Marinette Dupain-Cheng doesn't understand why her recent cat doodles affect her so much, until she runs into a certain somebody, and the pieces start to connect...This is an AU where Marinette and Adrien never went to school together, but they do know each other from somewhere...





	Memories to share and memories to create

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written a real multiple chapter fic before so like... go easy on me?  
> Actually I haven't written anything at all in about two years so we'll see how this goes :')
> 
> Jokes aside, if you catch any spelling or grammar errors, please shoot me a message so I can have them fixed.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng leaned back in her chair and rested her head against the headrest while sighing deeply. She brought her hands up to her hair and pulled two pens out of the makeshift bun she had made hours ago. Without the pens holding it together, her hair fell down in an ink-black cascade framing her face. Had it been a conditioner commercial, Marinette was sure her hair would have looked like a shiny waterfall without split ends, but since her life wasn’t a commercial, Marinette suspected letting her hair down made her look even more like a disheveled mess. And a disheveled mess she was. During the last week, she had poured all of her energy into sketching during her free time, and that meant something else had to suffer for it. In this case, that something was work. It wasn’t that Marinette disliked her job – quite the opposite. She was well aware of her fortune, of the fact that her having a paid internship at a prestigious designer brand was her way into the fashion industry, but… Marinette knew she had to make use of these sudden bursts of creativity when they hit her, even if it meant getting little to no sleep and underperforming at work. Even if it meant having slightly greasy hair with split ends hanging around her face.

It all began a few days ago. Marinette had been absentmindedly doodling when an image suddenly hit her mind, igniting her imagination like a match to tinder. One could’ve expected it to be something useful, like a design that went in line with the season’s trends, but no. Out of all things it was a cat suit, looking almost like a… superhero suit. Marinette’s hands immediately went to work, trying to copy the design. It had felt ridiculous at first. Sure, Marinette had experienced bursts of creative energy like this before, but it had always ended up with her pushing the limits of her talent or creativity until she improved. This cat design didn’t feel like something that could help her – it felt like a child’s daydream, and moreover… something about it made Marinette not exactly uncomfortable, but… As she squinted at the hastily finished drawing, her hands still by the sketchbook, she realized that the tug in her gut felt almost like nostalgia. Like a memory buried deep under. Seeing the finished design sparked something unexpected in Marinette’s mind, and she picked up the pen again, almost involuntarily. More doodles formed from Marinette’s swift hand, and every new drawing felt like chiseling away at a memory. Even though the strangeness of it all registered, Marinette soon fell into a flow she hadn’t experienced in weeks.

And so it continued. Now Marinette was fatigued and burned out at work, but also nagged by the feeling of not quite remembering something that had been once been crucial to her. Something that had to do with a cat suit. Well… not just a cat suit. During the last three or so days, Marinette had developed the design and eventually turned it into an entire collection of cat themed items. She was surprised inspiration had stayed with her long enough for her to create something so thorough, and though it felt strange to draw a collection of cat themed things, she was strangely glad of it. Though she didn’t yet know the shape of the lock, drawing the collection had felt like retrieving the key to something important.

Marinette was snapped back to reality by her desk neighbor’s cheerful voice. Nadine Denis’s quick approach was heralded by the sound of her high heels against the floor. Her look that day was dominated by a silk blouse in a soft creamy pink shade, matched with a pair of jeans. Nadine always managed to be the picture of casual elegance. Usually, this fact didn’t make Marinette feel like a speck of dirt, but today she was already at a low point to begin with. The prospect of facing Nadine like this was not very appealing, though, so Marinette quickly redid the bun on top of her head and stretched her tired limbs.

“Marinette!” Nadine got settled in her chair and turned toward her neighbor, her hands clasped in her lap. “Have you heard the latest piece of gossip?” Marinette flicked her eyebrows up in a mock-confused look. Nadine sighed dramatically.  
“Right. It’s your personal policy to never get involved in other people’s business. I forgot for a sec.” That was correct, actually. After seeing her friends being torn apart by high school gossip, the prospect of gossiping lost its appeal. Ever since she had made it her thing to never participate in discussions that could be interpreted as just that. Nadine knew all this, so this whole conversation was just for fun.  
“If you know of my policy”, Marinette said, “what makes you think I’d be interested in hearing this?”  
“Oh, I don’t know, I just want to give you the option of hearing it, at least”, Nadine said. Marinette though that, though she had that cool grace look going on, she looked a little bit like an excited puppy. Maybe that was part of the reason why Marinette at last said: “Fine”, with a light exhale for good measure.  
“It really isn’t gossip anyway”, Nadine began. “The whole company will know of it by tomorrow, so it doesn’t really count… either way, this is it: You know of the boss’s estranged son, right?” Marinette did – though barely. Even with her policy, that particular scandal had been hard to avoid. Marinette guessed it wasn’t that strange considering the fact that the scandal concerned the CEO of the company she worked for. A few years ago, he and his son had had a violent falling out, and rumor had it they hadn’t been in contact ever since. The scandal had been made extra interesting by the son’s own fame, fame he’d built by modeling. Fame he continued to build, Marinette presumed, though she didn’t remember his face – or name – enough to be sure of that.  
“Marinette? Earth to Marinette.” Nadine freckled, brown face came back into focus. Marinette grimaced.  
“Sorry, I’m having a rough week. What were you saying?” Nadine looked concerned for a moment, but continued.  
“So, this son… word is he’s going to come by the office tomorrow. Apparently the plan is to patch things up with his father!” Nadine’s excitement dimmed a bit when faced with Marinette’s undisturbed calm look.  
“How is this not interesting to you?” she demanded when Marinette failed to falter. Marinette shrugged.  
“How do you know any of this anyway?” she asked in lieu of answering. A smug gleam returned to Nadine’s eyes.  
“I have my sources.” Marinette’s answering smile was wry.  
“I’m sure you do.”

Upon returning to her flat, Marinette discovered that the last of that burst of intense creative energy had faded away, and left her with a fatigued body and mind. She heated a can of soup in the microwave, ate it and promptly fell asleep almost before she had made it to her bed. Even though a full night’s sleep wasn’t enough to completely restore her to her full spirits, she felt wonderfully revived when waking up the next morning. In a rush of inspiration, she put on a morning mood playlist and showered while singing along to the songs. When Marinette pulled her curtains away from the window, she discovered bright rays of sunlight setting the street beneath her window ablaze. It was late April, after all, but Paris – and its suburbs – had been starved for sun the whole spring. The thought of true spring made Marinette smile – and it also made her brave when choosing the outfit of the day. Instead of opting for her usual tank top and cardigan, she chose a new blazer she hadn’t yet made up her mind about, and one of her own designs: a hat she had distractedly sketched and ended up liking so much she’s sown it herself. With her hair, bound in a low ponytail, fluttering after her, she left her apartment and headed to work.

When Marinette arrived to her desk, Nadine was nowhere to be seen. Marinette assumed she was snooping around the office looking for the infamous model she was expecting today. Marinette didn’t share her friend’s interest in the young man (he had to be about Marinette’s age, and she was definitely a young woman), but she still found it somewhat amusing that it friend was so excited by this inconsequential piece of gossip. Marinette switched on her laptop and opened her e-mail inbox. She quickly understood that she had a day full of tasks to manage, and that she had to start clearing them off if she wanted to get home by a reasonable hour. Marinette got up from her place behind her desk and began walking toward her boss’s office. She was fully engrossed in planning out how to streamline the photoshoot she had ahead of her when the floor slammed into her. Or maybe she had slammed into the floor. Marinette looked up, a bit dazedly, to see a young man standing above her, frowning down at her  
“Are you okay, miss?” he asked. Concern lined his voice. Marinette shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, stopping short of ruining her ponytail.  
“I’m so sorry”, she said. Not all of the clumsiness of her teenage years had left her, it seemed, if she was still capable of behavior this graceless. The man extended a hand, and Marinette gratefully accepted the aid.  
“I’m sorry”, she repeated when she was back on her feet. “I’m not usually this clumsy…”  
“It’s fine”, then man reassured her. For the first time, Marinette took in his appearance. He was undeniably attractive, with a head full of probably intentionally messy blond waves and intensely green eyes. Those eyes… The same feeling of a lost memory fighting to get to the surface suddenly hit her again, stronger than ever. Those _eyes_ … Marinette took a step back with a forced light laugh.  
“I have to apologize again, and I really don’t want to seem rude, but um… I’m in a bit of a hurry.” She made a face she hoped looked apologetic.  
“Oh, I completely understand”, the young man said, even though he looked almost as puzzled as Marinette felt. “Until next time”, he mumbled, and that was that. Marinette breezed past him, but stopped to catch her breath as soon as she’d rounded a corner. Her heart was beating like she’d just run up the stairs, and she had no explanation for why.


End file.
